Tuesday, April 24, 2012

What Are You Willing To Sacrifice? From April 12th Lutheran North Chapel service

Linda and I had the opportunity to present and give the message at a Chapel service at Lutheran High School North in St. Louis, where Eric had taught for 7 years. The message gives all of us something to think about, so we thought we would post it here.-----------------------------------------------------

(Eric) What are
you willing to sacrifice?

This
question has been on our minds and hearts a lot lately. As you know for many
years, I have felt called to work in Africa, but the time never felt right.
When I married Linda, who also had a passion for international ministry, we
strongly sensed that the time was now. We knew that it was going to take a lot
of sacrifice. Honestly, one of the hardest sacrifices I had to make was leaving
a place I loved and students I cared for (i.e. you). Yet, sometimes God calls
us to make these sacrifices.

(Linda) As we started down the process of finding a placement, we
soon had to sacrifice something else. Our timeline. We had hoped to leave by
the start of this school year, working in positions that would pay us. The
months wore on and nothing seemed to be coming together. Either a placement
would want Eric, but not have any position for me. Or they would have a spot
for me, but not a married couple. We finally realized the best way was to raise
our own salaries and go with a volunteer missionary organization. But this takes a LOT of time. We waited until
we had two options and after praying about it, we felt that we were called to
Jos, Nigeria. We knew there were safety risks there, but there were also a lot
of other missionaries there and a system in place to reduce the risk.

(Eric) In
December, we traveled to Nigeria, excited about the ministry we thought we
would be doing in Jos. When we got there, our story took another turn. The
Lutheran Church of Nigeria didn’t want us in Jos. They wanted us to work in
Obot Idim in Southeast Nigeria. This change would mean more sacrifices. There
were no other missionaries in that area, so we would lose all of that support.
The place also had a long history of kidnappings. People looking for money
would kidnap ex-patriots (i.e. non-Nigerians), government officials, or wealthy
Nigerians in order to hold them for ransom. Sometimes those who were kidnapped
did not survive. As we saw the needs at the school there and in the community, it
wasn’t a perfect fit for our skills, but we knew we could help. So the question
was before us “What are we willing to sacrifice?”

(Linda) Our story took yet another turn. While we were in Nigeria,
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania contacted our organization asking
if we could come there. We dismissed the idea, because we were in Nigeria. It
was too late in the game to make any changes. We came back and talked with
family and friends and the head of Global Lutheran Outreach. He asked us if we
wanted to consider Tanzania, and we said the only way we would is if their
needs fit our skills exactly. We also realized that we felt more called to Obot
Idim than we felt to Jos. Yet, we still felt unsettled. Why were we unsettled?
We didn’t know. Then, we found out a little more about the jobs in Tanzania.
They seemed to fit us. What were we going to do? To consider Tanzania meant
more money and more time. And I struggled with this. Why did I feel more called
to Tanzania than to Nigeria. Was it because I was afraid? Was I really willing
to risk our lives? In my quiet time, I started to focus on stories where God
called people to sacrifice. One day I landed on the story of Abraham and Isaac.

(Eric) In the
story, Abraham was told by God early in his life that he would have descendants
more numerous than the stars. There was
one problem though. He had no
children. Until one day God performs a
miracle, allows his wife the age of your grandmother to give birth, and they
have one son, named Isaac. God knew
that Abraham was faithful to him, but for reasons Abraham did not know, God
tested him. God called Abraham to go to
a mountain. Then God called to him to
sacrifice his only son. Now, this means
for Abraham, that if God allows him to go through with this, he will possibly
not have any descendants. But Abraham
trusted in the promises of God. He took
Isaac on to a mountain to sacrifice him.
Abraham raised up the knife to kill Isaac. God saw that Abraham truly trusted in Him,
and provided a ram instead.

(Linda) As I read this story, a prayer came to me. “God, is Tanzania
the ram?” God didn’t provide the answer immediately. However, as the weeks went
by and we got more information and talked with more people, we realized that
while we were willing to sacrifice and potentially give our lives wherever we
went, God had provided a ram. When we went to Tanzania in February, we realized
the work they needed us to do fit EXACTLY with our passions, our interests and
our skills. So this is where we are headed.

(Eric) There is
still much sacrificing. It’s not over. And there will be many struggles. But we
know it’s going to be ok, because God made the ultimate sacrifice. He provided
the ultimate ram. When it looked like Isaac would be lost, God provided the
ram. When it looked like we would be lost, God provided his son. That knowledge
is worth sacrificing everything.

So we ask you, what is God calling you to sacrifice? Time?
Money? Popularity? Don’t worry, He’s not calling you to sacrifice school
;-) But this is a question that we all
must ask ourselves. And no matter the sacrifice, God promises that He will
always be with you. Forever and ever
Amen.

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Linda, Eric, Michael and Julia Funke

In September of 2012, we followed God's call and moved to Tanzania. Eric teaches computers, math, and physics at Mwadui Lutheran Secondary School. Linda serves as school's guidance counselor and assists the local Lutheran diocese with development projects. In 2015, our son Michael joined our family. Then in 2017, our daughter Julia became part of our family. This blog provides space for our longer stories and reflections. If you would like to learn more about our ministry, please check out the following links: